I find this commercial disturbing.
Month: March 2011
Ministry of Truth to be created in California
A California corporation has been awarded has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom) to build the Ministry of Truth. "The project has been likened by web experts to China’s attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet."
The Centcom contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers should be able to operate false identities from their workstations "without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries".
[Source, guardian.co.uk, Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media]
Now, before you grab your tinfoil hat (and mine is shinier than yours), note that "said none of the interventions would be in English, as it would be unlawful to ‘address US audiences’ with such technology"
…any English-language use of social media by Centcom was always clearly attributed. The languages in which the interventions are conducted include Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto.
In his evidence to the Senate committee, Gen Mattis said: "OEV seeks to disrupt recruitment and training of suicide bombers; deny safe havens for our adversaries; and counter extremist ideology and propaganda." He added that Centcom was working with “our coalition partners” to develop new techniques and tactics the US could use "to counter the adversary in the cyber domain".
[Source, guardian.co.uk, Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media]
See also: Inspector General – Information Operations Contracts in Iraq page 9, Operation Earnest Voice (OEV) – online engagement, The man behind Operation Earnest Voice, and Operation Earnest Voice Part III.
1000 words – checking for radiation
If you aren’t following what is happening in Japan and Fukushima, you should be.
Dear Starbucks, we have an issue…
Recently, Starbucks introduced its iPhone app which allows you to associate a Starbucks gift card with the phone and a credit card with the application. When I make a purchase from Starbucks, I simply show them the QR Code (bar code) on the phone and I’m done. Plus I get bonuses like a free drink after so many uses. I can also put more money on the application with a couple of taps of the screen. Almost too easy. And I get annoyed. That’s right ANNOYED!
See, your wonderful application has made it easier than ever for me to spend money at Starbucks. I calculate my expenditure at Starbucks since installing the iPhone app has quadrupled. Where do I get annoyed? It’s your employees. You’ve made it incredibly easy, and almost fun, to make purchases at Starbucks and your employees kill it when I try to hand them my phone and they utter, "I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to touch your phone." Well yes they are. Because I have given them permission and I speak those words, "I give you permission to take my phone." In short, that means I assume liability. If they drop my phone in a sink of soapy water, it’s my fault.
Watching a barista do acrobatics out the drive through window to stretch a scanner beyond the length of its cord because they won’t take my phone in their hand is absurd. To tell me I have to come inside to use the application is counter productive. But, since this seems to be such an issue, I now avoid your drive through which means sometimes I avoid your business altogether. That’s right. You created an application that dramatically increased my business with you. But you are quickly creating an employee culture that is driving me away.
Dear Starbucks, I ask you to do something simple. Tell your staff that if I give them permission to take my phone, they can. And if you really need to cover your ass, just put a sign by the register and at the drive through window that reads "Starbucks cannot be held liable for damage to your phone if you hand it to our employees" then have your employees ask, "Do I have permission to hold your phone?" Thanks!
Update: If I accidentally leave my phone on the counter, does this policy mean that management won’t touch it? Or do they pick it up and put it in a lost and found?
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 5 years old, has religious debate: "It’s kinda weird."
Amy, 8 years old: "What do you mean?"
Evan: "Well, Jesus. How did he create himself?"
The Internet has nothing left for me
I’ve now seen it all.
Btw, according to this comment, the scuba gear cost $20,000.
I’m a cat lover, and if you’ve ever seen an extended clip, you’d know that this guy? spent $20,000 on the kitty scuba gear. Now I can’t imagine burning that kind of cash on something so… silly, but he did it because Hawkeye really loves the water. I think this is more a case of a ridiculously pampered pet rather than animal abuse (though I could rescue a whole bunch of cats with $20,000…) [Source
Well there is this.
An Artificial Light
[n.b. 1st draft of an incomplete one that’s been sitting on a piece of paper far too long]
There’s a crowd in here
With so many voices
and so many noises
How can one be so alone
In such a crowded room
There’s a party in here
Everyone is having fun
Except for one
Who knows
It’s an artificial light.
With a flicker flutter
Pop a fizz
We’re all aware
We all know
It’s an artificial light
about to blow
And the darkness comes
Because all artificial lights
burn out
The light has to go.
The sun is shining bright
Birds are singing
Daises tickle the bellies
of cats playing with dogs
Rain has washed the clouds away
Only fog in the shadows remain
The sun is shining bright
It’s an artificial light.
A shiny man lies in my closet
He wears the clothes
that no longer fit me
The light in the closet
burned out long ago
The shiny man does not care
He lives in the darkness
with nothing to fear
But an artificial light.
I need therapy!
In the old days, they called these Internet cams and the cost was $5 per minute, not that I’d personally know anything about that but I’ve cleaned enough "phone dialers" off client computers to acknowledge that we live in a very sexually driven society. So at $150 for an hour, this therapy is a bargain albeit probably less, um, "interactive" than the other ones.
My Family Needs a Bus
Volkswagen is bringing back the microbus!
It’s powered by an electric motor and uses an iPad to control the entertainment system, climate control and other functions. Volkswagen said the Bulli can go up to 186.4 miles on a single battery charge. That’s far, considering that the Nissan Leaf is rated at 73 miles on a charge by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Bulli can go up to 87 miles per hour.
[Source, MSNBC, Hippies rejoice! VW unveils new version of microbus]
